The Chilean Para archery national team member, Mariana Zuñiga, has been in high-performance sport for a short time and yet has managed to establish herself as one of the Paralympic archers with the most projections.
Her last title was obtained in September this year after competing in the Online Archery Cup, a tournament organized by the World Archery Americas. "Having achieved the gold medal in that event means a lot to me and to the development of Para archery in Chile."
Mariana declares that she is excited and happy about the integration of Para archery into the sports program of the Parapan American Games in Santiago 2023 and that is where she hopes to succeed with the Chilean public supporting her.
I would like to be on the podium and hopefully achieve a gold medal, either in an individual or a team category. That is my goal for Santiago 2023.
I think it could have many benefits at the national level, especially in terms of recognition and not only in archery, but in other sports that are not known. It will be a good opportunity to meet and recognize Chilean athletes who will have the opportunity to participate in the event and who have a very good level. Santiago 2023 is also a way to make the capabilities of athletes visible and show that we can get to a great international achievement.
I believe that the fact that sport is integrated, and that we are also competing at home is a great advantage for the development of sport. The fact of competing in Chile makes us feel safer since we know the climate and the conditions in which we face the competition, so that gives us peace of mind when it comes to competing.
The support and the fact that it is visualized that people want to participate in the event, and that we are not only the athletes or those who are linked to the sport who are linked to the event, but that it belongs to everyone. And that this growth of the Paralympic movement is also seen.
In addition to Santiago 2023, the next challenge I have is to obtain the quota for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
